The River Kingdoms

We caught up to a slow moving Varisian caravan (gypsies) of 10 wagons. They were very hospitable, inviting us to join their caravan for the night, share watches, meals and perhaps trade goods.

The gypsies were even so kind as to clear the snow away from our campsite to ensure we were drier and warmer.

Phil knew all about these people and warned us to watch our pockets. He made himself a pot of Mwangi coffee (Kalee traded one of the Mwangi boomerangs for a cup) and posted himself outside this wagon. Determined not be swindled or thieved, he stayed up all night.

Kalee on the other hand, strung out from the coffee proceeded to mingle with all the Varisians. She visited the elder healers, the fighters and the women attempting to learn more about the herbs they use for healing (and darker uses) and drank probably a bit too much wine.

Lance, taking Phil’s advice on guarding our goods, sat his faithful dog Bolt on his cart and commanded him to ‘guard’. Eventually Bolt started growling and barking. Lance cast a ‘speak with animal’ spell and hears Bolt frantically announcing the approach of strangers. Although the stranger could not be seen, Bolt focused his attention on the direction in which he could hear the footsteps. The Varisians obviously cleared the snow, so they could invisibly steal goods from their wagons, without the footsteps being seen. After Bolt calmed down, Lance redistributed the snow around his wagon and our tents.

Zirul went in search of the Seer of the gypsy caravan and was quite disappointed when all he got read was his cards and palms by a Harrower. Though very cryptic, his fortune revealed a brother, the ‘mother’ is in the center of the story, darkness surrounds the brother, and a voyage was in his future.

Jayce goes to the same Harrower and was told a similar story but with some different points of interest. A princess will set him free. He is from a dark place and will visit it again and will confront someone very bad. Will help to free a slave from the pirates. Will also go on a voyage by boat and something bad will happen.

After Liana’s watch, she went looking for their lorekeeper to see if she knew anything about Zhamoor (an old wizard that interested her in her studies). The Harrower has not heard the name but offers to read her fortune. She said there is treasure, she says there are fortunes in store for her. She reiterated that there are big riches in store for her. The treasure is defended by something, and she finally pulled a tree card. Headed to the forest? Treasure in the forest? One of the people she is traveling with will be able to get past the defender somehow – she will not be able to. There is something evil there. Someone is going to die there; someone in my group is going to die. At the treasure. Not sure how. Someone that Liana is close to or that she knows is royalty or has power. Does Liana know any slaves? It’s all connecting to the treasure. The slave has a darker skin, not from here.

The night passes without further incident. Morning comes, Phil is just as wide eyed as he was the night before and after helping the gypsies with they damaged wagon, the party leaves.

Fearing that Redd would gather his troops and track the party for revenge, the party double timed their travel for the next three days. On the third day, Lance set up a trip wire that would set off a sent of fireworks, alerting the party to pending trackers. The skies did not reveal any followers.

There was a new moon on the 7th in the clear night sky.

The mages and rogues investigate the magic box. There is a spell cast on the box, low level spell, probably an arcane lock. It would need a very good lock picker to open it or else a knock spell. The box has something relatively large in it, about the size/shape of the box – it does not move much if the box is shaken.

The mother & daughter chose to take a horse, rations and a weapon (Lance gave her 30 gold out of his own pocket) and left the caravan and went back to Pitax.

The lieutenant that Kalee put to sleep at Redd’s camp eventually woke up only to find himself strapped to the back of a horse in an uncomfortable position. Jayce had tied him quite securely and he was unable to loosen his bonds. After he was interrogated and gave no useful information, he accidentally slipped on a wet rock and landed on his own knife, fatally wounding himself. That is the story, anyway.

After team discussion of what little the lieutenant revealed, a theory was proposed that Captain Keel could be “The Black Marquis – Pirate of the North”. Captain Keel is a slaver who has taken family members from Kalee, Rather and Zirul. They are all looking for him.

After formulating a plan to find Redd’s base camp to possibly rescue the little girl’s mother, Rath and Kalee took the bandit back to the caravan for questioning. Knowing that Redd would be coming back, this time with reinforcements, Lance stayed behind to set up a decoy ambush. He rigged crossbows to trigger wires, dug pit traps and stoked the fires as if we were still occupying the camp. His ‘piece de resistance’ was to leave a note for Redd. “Sorry you missed us, we are at your base camp.”

After questioning, Zirul’s knife accidentally found its way across the bandit’s throat and the party was off to find Redd’s camp. Rath stayed with the caravan as protection as it was to proceed further south out of site from the camp. After Phil D’Cart refused to travel further without all his guards, Rath left him and the little girl and joined the party as they completed the journey to Redd’s camp.

The camp appeared well established with three camp fires, multiple tents & carts, and general mules milling about. Without warning to his party Lance, riding on his dog, charged into camp and attacked the first person he saw. So much for a surprise attack! He was soon surrounded. Rath joined the battle as did Jayce and Liana with Zirul charging in on his mighty steed. Rath soon realized that to stay in the middle of camp was not a good thing, so he took to the trees to find the mother, who could be heard screaming as she was being violated in a far off tent. Kalee started defend her party but realized that they had things handled and went to find the mother.

For a time, it looked as though the bandits had the upper hand and the battle was lost. Zirul and Jayce were flanked and the dire rats Liana was summoning were being killed as fast as she could summon them. The tides turned as Zirul and Jayce learned each others fighting styles. Zirul’s horse even got in a few good kicks and bites. Liana summoned a riding dog that held off the bandits attacking, allowing her to some damage on her own.

As Jayce, Zirul and Liana were taking care of the camp bandits, Lance slipped away and joined Rath circling camp through the trees to rescue the mother. They were spotted and although they fought valiantly, rolling several critical dice hits, both fell to their injuries, out of site of the rest of the party.

Kalee found her way without being spotted to the tent the mother was being assaulted by one of Redd’s lieutenants while another stood guard. Kalee snuck into the tent unnoticed by both and with her sleep inducing darts subdued the assaulting guard. Whispering to the mother to keep screaming, Kalee gave her a knife to cut her way out the back of the tent. Using the tent as cover, Kalee began to shot sleeping tipped darts at the second lieutenant. Eventually he too slumped into deep slumber.

The camp was raided of all things valuable (included a fully cooked haunch of deer), healing herbs, weapons and horses, the party made a hasty retreat before Redd and the rest of his bandits came back.

Mother and daughter were reunited and given the choice to keep with the caravan and continue on to the next trading camp or take one of the horses and make their way back to Pitax.

Kalee, Rath and Lance follow the tracks left by the bandits to a copse of trees an hour’s ride east. They were able to get close enough to investigate without being seen. The bandits were debating on what they should do with the girl. One of the bandits mentioned that Redd their leader would be back in an hour or so and he would decide.

Rath, Kalee and Lance set up an ambush, and began to shoot blowgun darts and crossbow fire from the surrounding bushes. The bandits had trouble finding locating the source of the fire, and by the time they were able to fire back, one bandit dropped. The other two bandits looked for a means to escape the ambush, and one attempted to quickly mount a nearby horse. Lance shot a crossbow bolt into the rump of the horse, which made it run dragging one of the bandits for 10 feet before he let go. That bandit chased after the fleeing horse.

The final brigand was nearly dead from Kalee impaling it with multiple blow darts, so Rath jumped out from behind cover to finish him off. The bandit got one final blow in on Rath before getting chopped down. Kalee and Rath grabbed two nearby horses and ran down the fleeing bandit.

Now the party has a bandit and a child.

The party waited for Redd to come back, setting up an ambush. Redd came back as expected, and everyone fired crossbows and blowdarts at Redd. Redd quickly jumped on his horse and escaped. The party did not pursue. There is no doubt that Redd will be back with more men to secure his forward base.

So the question is now… What does the party do with the bandit, and what does the party do with the child? The party is 3 days out from Pitax currently.

After a few days journey the merchant and party run out of road. They continue their trek on the plains. Phil approaches an area he lost his wagon to last month. Brigands accosted him by a copse of trees and took all his goods and left him to walk back to Pitax empty handed. To him that was better than dead, but he asked his bodyguards if they could check up ahead to ensure it was safe this time. It was clear and sunny, but chilly with a high of 5 degrees Celsius.

Lance, Kalee and a partially blind Oracle volunteered to scout out the situation while the others stayed behind at the wagon in case it got attacked while the small group was out investigating. They came upon a bloodied crying little girl in the middle of the copse of trees. As they approached her to see what was wrong, they were ambushed by 3 Brigands. Kalee was knocked unconscious, however Lance and the Oracle were able to give enough punishment to the Brigands to send two to their graves and one running.

One of the Brigands had the crying child, and was able to get to his horse and gallop away. Not without difficulty however, as Lance almost scared the horse enough to buck the final Brigand and the girl from the horse.

Upon returning back to Phil they reported what they saw as well as what they found on the bodies. A small pendant revealing an artists rendition of the girl and her father was shown to Phil, and Phil recognized the man as being a merchant like him belonging to the same Merchant House in Pitax. He left a few days ago with a wagon of his own. He must have been ambushed by this same group of Brigands.

Phil asked the group if they were interested in finding their camp and trying to rescue the merchant and girl, or if the merchant was dead, rescue the girl and split the proceeds of the goods they find in the camp.

The adventuring party signs up to escort a merchant (Phil) to Oleg’s Trading Post nearly 20 days travel from Pitax. They sign a contract with Phil to receive 100 gp each upon successfully reaching Oleg’s Trading Post with goods intact. The wagon full of good and the party head northward from Pitax to avoid the March and wilderness to the east which is untamed and dangerous.

The journey itself is not without risk, as there are many bandits who would love to get their hands on the goods this wagon carries. The supplies would be perfect to outfit a band of brigands.